Dear John,

I don't have any major issues with the quality of what you do, but what I object to is you guys not telling "Joe Public" how your technology works.

I object to paying someone £650 a day to make a switch work because your instructions suck and your website is near enough useless.

We have an Ironport, and I was quite upset when you bought that company because I feel what was a great open standards organisation will overnight become very closed source and closed standards!  Pah!

Carl

Dear John,

I'm not afraid of getting hurt, but I can't respect myself for staying around to be your quarterly relief valve. It's taken so long for me to finally admit it to myself... I keep thinking we share the same goals, but every time I turn around you abuse my budget. And it hurts, John.

You kept forcing your "upgrades" on me whenever you felt like it. And if I tried to resist, you'd simply refuse to support me any more. That's not a preferred relationship, John... you simply used me, dominated me. It was always about you, you, you. You never thought once about me.

My needs were so simple, John. I needed you to service me well, when I needed it. That's what's great about Vyatta; they rise to the occasion when I need them, and don't keep pounding me at the end of every quarter.

I've finally found balance in my life with Vyatta. Being free from an unnecessary tyranny is so liberating! I guess that's ultimately what it's all about, John: Freedom to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. From this point forward, it's all about me.

Sincerely,
Facing Forward

PS: You left a box of PO's in my room; I burned them.

Dear John,

I don't like telling you this, but I feel like I owe you this much. It's over. The fact is, somebody else has stolen my heart and my loyalty. It started innocently enough. I didn't go looking for it, but somebody caught my eye. I was just going about my business when I stumbled on them. At first they teased me with promises of more performance and lower prices. I didn't believe it because you were so strong in my life. But it kept nagging at me. Without knowing why, I went back and took another look, and then another. It was an irresistable attraction, a seduction. Could it be true, I wondered?
 
They  talked to me in language I could appreciate and understand. They talked about virtualization. They talked about blade servers. They talked about reduced sparing costs. And frankly, they talked in a way that I hadn't heard before. It was a two-way dialog. I was allowed to ask questions, to be skeptical. They asked me to not take anything at face value but to let them prove it to me. Then they did.
 
They showed me pictures, John, and sometimes graphs, too. At first I wouldn't look, not wanting to believe it, rejecting it. But in the end, there it was. There was no denying it. The performance, the prices, and yes, John, the profit margins.  John, how could you? To say that I felt taken advantage of is an understatement. In truth, I felt dirty and even ashamed. How could I have been so blind?
 
Don't be mad. The truth is, you let this happen. You took me for granted. You assumed that once you caught me, I would always be yours. You told me what I wanted to hear, but the fact was that you were lying to me. You said you were the best and you could give me everything I needed. The glitz and the jet-set lifestyle blinded me. I believed you. But  the pictures and graphs don't lie, John.  My eyes are wide open now and I just can't keep up the charade any longer .
 
Ciao,
 
Leaving for Vyatta
 
PS: You never did perform well. You might try taking some Vyatta for that.

Dear John,

I started with Wellfleet, and moved to Cisco.  I remember the days, and nights hunched over the terminal screen, green glow lighting my face in the dark recesses of the wiring closet, diligently pounding out new configurations for network translation... working with FDDI, Arcnet, Token-Ring, Thicknet, IPX and IP, ATM...

The router then took off, Cisco became a household name, stocks rocketed, the 2500 series ruled the datacenters, remote sites, and even some in homes... All IT Support was judged against Cisco Support.  Those were the days...

Then something happened... Cisco began building more "stuff" onto the router, and prices changed dramatically... Cisco began the march to be the next Microsoft... Bloat filled the network... and I have no time for either any more... so...
Farewell...

Dear John,

Router>show run

Yes, it's been fun run, but I have to go now.
It turns out I really do need the security, and the lower costs associated with an open source network.

I'm sorry, I know it's me, not you--I've just changed, and I have to move on.

In any event, I know change is hard, esp. with all the marketing hype you've paid for--well OK we, your customers, paid for.

And I don't expect to see you at an Open Source/Linux conference anytime soon.
But, you are always welcome.
We can talk of all the good times we use to have.
I know there must be one we can talk about--I just can't think of it right now.

Router>erase start
Router>erase flash
Router>reboot cisco org chart

Dear John,

Cisco Engineer means study all the time
Vyatta Engineer means never lose your mind
All we want is simple
A network that just works
No complex commands
No salesmen in pressed shirts

Vyatta came along
And sang a new love song
A Google kind of tune
That means its STOCK grows strong

Cisco you own wireless
 Vyatta, just might steal?
That market with a product
That's wireless for real

It routes and switches wireless
And makes Aruba smart
It PIX apart your commands
Shows run before it starts
It slices, dices mixes and makes our networks clean
It knack is not a box but something in between

Vyatta Partner Network
A VPN affair
Cisco and Dear John
I know you dear to care
Your customers are priceless
And price makes Dear John rich
Vyatta's saw that problem
Hence reasons why to switch

Dear John,
We're exact opposites. You have always wanted to blend in as many features as possible, to be perfect for everybody. I have always wanted to stick with the core solutions that are important to me. What's funny is, it took me so long to realize that we're so different. I want to decide what's right for me and my network and you want to charge me out the wazoo for every feature under the sun.

It has been a devastating blow to realize how much I could have saved over the years using open source networking solutions from Vyatta. And even worse, to come to the realization that you've managed to collect thousands from me in support, upgrades and your fancy "specialized hardware" over the years when I could have been doing the same thing with standard x86 servers. If somewhere during the course of our relationship, you confused my re-orders for loyalty and my component upgrades for love.... YOU WERE WRONG!

Dear John,

This is a hard letter to write, you were ok, you had the basics I needed but I wanted more. I met this other guy. He is more open to doing new things. He isn't afraid of new challenges.

You didn't do anything wrong, you just did not adapt to change very
well, and also, you aren't exactly the cheapest date around.<

Dear John,

It is with a combined sense of disappointment and passion that I must tell you that I am no longer in love with you. I have completely and totally fallen for another:Vyatta. Yes, I know he's much younger than you are, but I just can't help myself.

His lack of fear of being exposed - so sexy; his gorgeous features, performance and reliability - so alluring; the freedom he gives me to be who I want to be - so enlightening!  I'm mad, John!  Madly in love with someone who truly understands me and is finally able to meet my needs.

Knowing this, I feel that we just can't go on with our relationship. It's not fair to anyone involved. I mean, what if, during an intense moment with you, I called out Vyatta's name? And how I've already fought against doing just that!

We had some good times, John, or so you told me. So, please reflect on those moments and try to move on. Never look back. I know I won't.

If you take anything away from this experience, I hope you have learned that closing yourself off from the world only leaves you lonely.

Signed,

Moving On (and Vyatta's age has nothing to do with it)

Dear John,

I have sailed the seas. I did that for 10 years. I loved the smell of the salt, then you came by. I was young but hungry, I was naive and foolish.

Then came that big Kondratieff wave we call virtualization and I was looking for that proverbial kon-tiki boat, I search the earth and I wandered. I was betrayed by your love, I felt lost and I felt tied.

I wanted to break free and there came my Kon-Tiki, Vyatta! A breath of fresh air. I felt young, I felt lighter, I truly was in love.

Thanks to you, I knew what real love is. Its time to move on, its time to sail again, but you aren't that boat. Sorry!

Tarry Singh
-------------
Aum Shanti Aum

Dear John,

   Remember when you were young, flexible and listened to me with rapt attention? We did lots of new things together and celebrated with beer and cookies. The world was moving fast and we were on a great ride. We were Networkers and we took on the world at great parties with lots of dancing and silly hats.

   We're both older now and I find myself trapped on a ride that has stopped. We do what you want when you say you want to do it. You don't listen and when you do what I want it's too little and years too late. And the parties are stuffy, the hats are boring an we stay home to watch others dancing on TV.

   So, I'm moving on for both of us. I know it's not normal and embarrassing to separate after all these years. I know your friends will talk, so try to ignore them. It's just for the best.

   Maybe we'll connect someday and you'll understand why I left. I'll be the one at the party dancing on the table with the Vyatta hat.

Querido John Ch,he usado Cisco desde hace mas de 12 anios, cuando practicamente nadie en mi pais conocia la marca, pero ya me canse de tener que pagar los IOS cada vez que deseo solucionar un problema, y seguir con la burda interface de linea de comandos, he vendido bastantes elementos Cisco desde enrutadores hasta conmutadores, pasando por redes Wireless y VoIP, tengo varios elementos Cisco en mi oficina que los uso como pisapapeles (telefonos cisco 7960,ATA 186, switch 3524, router 2501, router 1601, y un PIX 506), todo lo estoy reemplazando con Vyatta y Asterisk, porque? sencillamente porque funciona mejor que tus elementos.

Otro hecho que me animo a realizarlo fue que en mi pais esta gobernando un presidente que parece hijo de una mezcla entre  Fidel Castro, Will Gates y Ud(John Ch), dice ser socialista y apoya el FOSS pero usa Windows XP y no se sabe ni la cancion de Hasta Siempre Comandante Che Guevara;  dice que tiene una visin clara del futuro (como Will Gates) y no se comprende ni con su hermana; y dice que cambiar el destino de nuestro pas (como John Ch con su telpresence) pero no migra ni la computadora de su secretaria; por todas esas razones he decidido migrar hacia la libertad, hacia Vyatta y Asterisk, porque solamente la libertad  de conocimiento nos librar de la ignorancia del Companierito Rafael Belt.

Victor Hugo
Santo Domingo de los Colorados
Provincia Tsachila

Dear John,

Let's face it - your too fat for me.  There was a time that you were lean and responsive, and could keep up with our active lifestyle.  But now you just sit there, all bloated and odorous, and wheeze when I ask you join in. Your suit doesn't fit anymore, in fact the colors don't even match - and why do you keep wearing that stupid hat!  Have you seen yourself lately - part desktop, part CE, part network, part application server - this is not what I want out of a relationship.

So goodbye tubby!

PS. I had an affair with Quagga and Xorp while you were in India...they were great.

Dear John,

I am sorry I can not keep up this pretense any longer and need to come clean and admit to you that I have been seeing someone else on the side.

It started off as a casual affair, but the more time we spent together getting to know one another, the more I was convinced that it would be a long lasting stable relationship. The experiences we have had thus far were mutually beneficial and free of the awful fighting you and I used to have trying to see eye to eye and always at my expense.

Regards

Vyoila

Dear John,

We almost had good times, didn't we?  Your friends came over and told me how great you were, in hopes that I would ask you out.  They didn't have to tell me about your great features, I assumed you were "all that", since that's what all the other boys were saying.  Cisco, we all know you have been "around the block". That's good though, it meant that you were tried, tested, and proven.  Then your friends went on to tell me some suprising things.  You won't really like me unless I spend a ton on you, and that's just to get started.  Each problem we might encounter is going to be extra rough since I will have to ask your friends to counsel us, at $200 an hour.

I hope I didn't hurt your feeling by acting interested, because I am not anymore as I found a another partner.  Please understand, it's not you, it's me.  I needed to have all your great features, but Iwithout the expensive counseling costs and startup premiums.  You see, I have to spend money on things like advertising and payroll, and you just don't fit into my life right now.  Since I know you will ask, it's Vyatta that I found comfort with.  Now I can have a high integrity network, and maybe even a little extra spending money for when we want to have fun.

Dear John,

You see, the thing is this, I've  been thinking, I want to be in a relationship that is financially balanced. I want to be with someone I can trust, someone that discloses their innermost secrets with me openly and without having to ask. I want the confidence in knowing that when I spend time on the phone with someone, I am the most important person to them at that moment, and when we are off the phone my problems are at the forefront.

I have met someone new, I am as special to them as they are to me, And I know I can rely on them just as much without financial commitment as when I do spend money with them.

Dear John,

Because 24/7 support doesn't do anything for me when I need to offer a 99.99% uptime for my company.  I just keep a second box, fully configured and updated running alongside to automatically take over should the first die.

Should Cisco ever want to mature into a real company, make it open source and I'll come and write some software for you.

Dear John,
It's over. It's not your fault. It's me. I've changed, that's all. I'm finally dealing with my own issues, and I've come to realize that just because you're big and strong doesn't mean you're right for me. Maybe I liked being dominated and controlled when I was younger, but now I'm more mature. I can make my own decisions. I can see that Vyatta's open-source solution gives me twice the speed at half the price, and Vyatta really cares about what I think. Vyatta listened when I said I needed affordable networking on standard hardware. You never did that.

Don't feel bad, your stuff works. It's expensive, sort of slow, and not very satisfying, but you're working on that, right? You always take more than you give, but I know it's not your fault. You have all sorts of proprietary issues. That's who you are. At least you're consistent. I just wish you could have been a little nicer to me, but I won't hold it against you.

I hope we can still be friends, but the truth is I just don't have anything left to give you, so I understand if you think it's best we never see each other again.

In hopes of a better future for both of us,
Crazy About Vyatta

Commitment.  Has that word vanished from your vocabulary? 

Remember all those years ago when we were first met?  You were a young rising star that could do no wrong.  I was just starting out and was so unsure of myself, trying to make it through this tough world.  I had so little.  I lived from day to day.  You told me not to worry.  You told me that you would always take care of me.  You told me that you would always be there for me.

What happened John?  You've become so complex and complicated.  I don't understand you anymore.  You seem to have so many different personalities now.  Just when I think I have begun to understand you again you change.  You acquire new friends and try to make them fit into your world.  And frankly John, some of your new friends are pretty strange.  They don't communicate very well.  It's like they are all talking different languages.  And sometime they act like they don't even like each other - or you for that matter.  I simply can't understand why you would want them to be part of your world.  They just don't fit.  When will you realize that John?

Why can't you just be yourself John?  Your old self, when you were so much simpler and easier to deal with.  Why can't you be the old John who cared about me?  I need someone who cares about me John.  It's important.  I need someone who will give me the commitment I need.  I want someone who is not so complex and hard to understand.  Someone who will be able to adapt to MY needs.  I've found that someone in Vyatta.  Unlike you John, Vyatta is open and easy to understand.  Vyatta doesn't try to suppress my desires and control me. Vyatta listens to me.  Vyatta cares about me, John.  Something that you stopped doing a long time ago.

So this is it John.  The end of our long relationship.  I have invested so much in you over the years.  So much time, so much energy.  And yes John, money.  So much money  I was such a fool.

You can come by and pick up your stuff anytime you want.  I tried to give it away but nobody wanted it...

Sincerely,
Excited About The Future

Remember when we tried to establish a VPN without using your father's client software. Who knew that I could stare at you for hours on end? Day after day. Knowing, just knowing you had so much more to offer me. In the end, I know you don't feel about me they way I felt about you. You wanted me to commit more and more in ways that seemed selfish. But what did you offer me in return? Did you ever ask yourself about my needs? Did you put as much into our relationship as I did?

Sometime, I felt I had to spend spend spend. Just for the privilege of talking to you. And when we were around your friends, I could feel your resentment. All your friends were getting spent on lavishly. But I couldn't offer you money. Only an ardent desire to make our relationship work.

I was never enough for you. And you could never give me what I needed without a struggle. So, I'm moving on. I met someone new. Someone who will listen to my needs. Someone who will give me all that I ask. And maybe a little bit more. I know we'll meet again. We'll meet often. But I'm the better off. And you may not miss me now, but someday you'll want to come back to me.